By Lydia | Last Updated
The frequent unwanted phone calls, especially spam and robocalls, has become a common frustration for iPhone users. iOS 17 provides several methods to block unwanted calls on iPhone, ensuring you have control over who can reach you.
Whether you're receiving scam likely calls or unknown numbers, here’s a detailed guide on how to block phone calls on your iPhone with steps to block specific numbers, unknown callers, and even spam calls:
If you're receiving repeated calls from a specific number that you wish to block:
Step 1: Open the Phone app on your iPhone.
Step 2: Navigate to the "Recents" tab to find the number you want to block.
Step 3: Tap on the (i) icon next to the number to view details.
Step 4: Scroll down and tap on "Block Caller" at the bottom of the screen.
Step 5: Confirm your decision by tapping "Block Contact".
Tips: You can choose to unblock this phone number with the "unlock caller" option at any time.
"Silence Unknown Callers" feature is an built-in iOS function, you can enable it to block calls from unknown or hidden numbers:
Step 1: Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
Step 2: Scroll down and tap on "Phone".
Step 3: Find and enable the option "Silence Unknown Callers".
Step 4: Once enabled, your iPhone will silence calls from numbers not saved in your Contacts, Mail, or Messages.
After enabling it, your iPhone will automatically mute calls from all unknown numbers and send them to voicemail, with the call logs appearing in the "recent" list in your phone app.
However, it not only blocks scam calls on iPhone but also any unknown calls, which may cause you to miss important notifications. Therefore, you can try the following method to intelligently block harassing calls.
iOS 17 includes a new powerful feature to identify and block spam and robocalls, but before start, you need to install a third-party app which can identify and blocks spam calls, then:
Step 1: Go to the Settings app on your iPhone.
Step 2: Tap on "Phone" and then "Call Blocking & Identification".
Step 3: In this page, you can choose to turn on/off Call Identification Apps.
Step 4: Tap the Edit option, you can drag and reorder these apps.
Step 5: Return to the third-party call blocking app, configure the blocking types according to your needs.
Notes: If you haven't downloaded a third-party caller identification and blocking app beforehand, you won't see Call Blocking & Identification option in your iPhone settings.
Every time your iPhone receives a phone call, your iPhone will automatically examine the phone number, and compare it with the phone number list in the third-party apps. If it matches, then your phone will display the Identification tag
1. By default, iOS does not display blocked call records. If you want to view blocked call records, you can click "Enable malicious call records" and follow the instructions provided by the third-party app.
2. If you're concerned about missing important calls, you can choose to mark harassing calls instead of blocking them completely. In Settings > Phone > SMS/Call Reporting, select the corresponding app.
3. The third-party apps can only provide rule-based call blocking and cannot access blocked call logs.
